WORDS: 3K

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CHAPTER THREE - HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO MAKE YOUR DREAMS A REALITY?

"-appeared to be a large explosion of some sort at the City Hall where the Summit was just underway…"

Zaheer was not expecting this. "Was- was this Ranlok?"

"Dad, he-"

"We're just getting word that all members of the Summit were present at the time of the incident. Among those members were: Firelord Izumi, King Wu, President Moon, Grand Lotus of the Republic Ranlok, and… Avatar Korra."

Kaili couldn't stop laughing if she tried. They're dead! She had expected this, but was elated to see her plan actually bear fruit. I didn't know if Ranlok had something like this planned before I mentioned anything to him, but I was certain that he'd do it after I brought it up. After all, it was the perfect chance.

"He sacrificed himself…" Zaheer contemplated.

After an, admittedly, uncomfortable amount of time, Kaili stopped laughing and sensed her father was a little disconcerted. "Dad," she said brightly, "This is good! This is what we needed! The Red Lotus is on the world stage again!" Kaili held his hand, still maintaining her focus on the road as she drove. Kaili's cheer began to fade as he remained silent. "Hey, Dad, I need to tell you something. We're not gonna stop at Gaoling."

"What? Then where are we going?"

Her real plan would have come as a shock to him. She wanted to find the new Avatar. And she knew of a spirit that could help her find them. By the looks of his reaction to Ranlok's sacrifice, Kaili didn't expect him to react positively to baby-snatching either.

"You said that your airbending is weak. I've heard of spirits that can restore bending abilities." A complete lie, of course. "I think I know of someone who can help us. It's a long shot, but it's worth a try."

. . .

The tires were worn and dusty from driving over the sandy terrain and Kaili's metal uniform didn't help her stay cool during the drive, but she had kept it on. They had stopped for fuel three times and ate once. Kaili knew that they were close to the location because of the old mining camps.

It was night again. She hadn't slept, but her father was knocked out. He mumbled something in his sleep when she stopped the car and stepped outside, but he fell silent soon after she closed the door. Kaili stretched, yawned and cracked her knuckles as she walked towards the dangerous mountain. It was impossible for a non-bender to access the cave opening that could barely be seen from that position. Even a novice earthbender would have trouble. Observing her metalbending, you'd think Kaili was helpless, but her earthbending wasn't bad at all. It was just very hard to use her skills in the densely populated city without racking up repair bills.

After some rock deformation, she entered the cave.

"Hello?" her voice echoed. She sighed at the absence of an answer. Is he ignoring me? She sensed the presence of a spirit, there was no mistaking it, he was here. Somewhere. She fell to the lotus position. Her breathing was completely calm and stable. It wasn't too long before a rasping noise came from the mountain. The sound of a million stones with no grain between them. She caught the whiff of a strange smell and opened her eyes. From the darkness, a glowing eyeball stared back at her. It had a sickly luminescent tinge of green, and a web of pulsing veins gripped it tightly from behind. The floating eyeball was the size of… an eyeball.

"Father Glowworm," she greeted him. "My name is Kaili. I need to find the Avatar."

"I've heard of you. And your need to see me. I didn't expect you so soon," he hissed. "As I'm sure you've been told over and over by the spirits who led you to me – I don't wish to partake in dealings with the Avatar anymore." He spat the word out like a curse.

"Yes," Kaili smiled. "Those tales never ended well for you, did they? I suppose they would explain your- uh… compact appearance?"

"If I knew you came here to mock me, I would've never appeared before you," he said in a voice more menacing than his size would suggest. He turned to return to the darkness once more. "Find another spirit, girl. Leave me in peace."

"She's dead," Kaili told him. He seemed to freeze in place at the news, as much as a floating eye could. "She died yesterday evening. You didn't know? Your powers have weakened, haven't they?"

He faced her again. "Was it your doing?"

"I was involved." Kaili shrugged. "Do you know who I am, Glowworm? With my spiritual powers, I bet if you consumed me, you would have enough energy to find the new-born Avatar, wouldn't you?"

He inched at her slowly. She thought he was salivating at the suggestion, but it was hard to tell. "Yes," he said, elongating the word. "It is as you say."

"What if I told you that my father has even more spiritual power than me?" At this point he was intimately close to her, they would be breathing the same air. Although she wasn't sure if he had lungs. "What if I told you…" Kaili whispered seductively as he drew closer, "that my father is the Flying Man… and he's outside… and his powers could be yours?"

"Zaheer the Flying Man… You're his daughter?" He backed away slightly. "Why? Why would you betray him?"

That word made her uncomfortable. "It's not betrayal!" she said, a little defensively. "I need to find the Avatar. No matter what."

. . .

As Kaili walked back she could see that Zaheer wasn't sleeping inside anymore, he had awoken and leaned against the side of the vehicle, waiting for her return. "Where did you go?" he asked her as she approached. "Did you find who you were looking for? What did they say?"

Kaili disregarded his questions with a deep breath. Her look suggested that she wanted to talk about something else. After a moment of pause to collect her thoughts, she spoke. "You know, Dad," Kaili said, staring at the mirrors of eyes that reflected hers. "I've been waiting for you to ask about how things were for me after you left. I mean, it would be the first thing that I would ask in your shoes. The first thing. Unless I already knew the answer."

"Kaili-" he tried to interject.

"And you can't even give me an apology!? You know, this whole time, I thought Mom became the way she did after you left. I thought she started drinking after you left."

Zaheer: "Kaili, I-"

Kaili: "You! You knew what kind of person she became, she was already that person before you left her. Before you left me!"

Zaheer: "I'm sorry, I-"

Kaili: "What? You couldn't wait a few months to take me with you?" Kaili said, stepping closer to him. "No!" she started, in a mocking tone. "It was too dangerous! Let me leave my unborn child with a careless, drunk, neglectful, insane, heartless monster! You probably hoped I was boy, right?" Kaili said, squinting at his eyes, no longer meeting hers, instead, favoring the sand. "A boy who was strong like you, who could fend for himself." Her eyes were watering at this point, she hadn't planned for her real emotions to pour out, but she didn't care anymore. He would hear her. "But I wasn't… I was helpless. Against her. Against her- her boyfriends if you could even- if you could even call them that!"

Zaheer embraced his daughter suddenly, bringing tears of his own. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened to you. Will you ever… ever, find it in your heart to forgive me, Kaili?"

It did catch her off guard. She was struggling to believe his act of love to be genuine, but it didn't matter. He had his chance to show her love, and he ran from it. Kaili could have a new family, she thought. But new growth cannot exist without first the destruction of the old.

"I will forgive you, Dad," she said quietly into his chest. "After you've paid for what you've done." His fatherly clutch loosened at the words. Kaili broke free and stepped back to see his bewildered eyes. She threw her arms up and the earth under him lobbed him a good distance in front of the car. "Now!" Kaili screamed at him, who realized that she wasn't talking to him, but the spirit jetting at out from behind her. "Take him!"

Zaheer winced and pulled his arms in front of him, blowing a strong gale in the girl's direction, enough for the car to reverse back down the road it had travelled. The eye sped like a bullet through the air, his tentacles flailing, until Kaili caused a wall to come between him and them.

"Kaili, what are you doing!?" he screamed.

Kaili shouted through the loud wind, launching boulders. "I'm sorry, Dad! This is the only way."

His airbending was weakened, but he was once the most powerful one alive. His air was strong enough to almost send Kaili's rocks right back at her. How many makeshift walls did she bend? How many forceful gales were sent at them? How many times did he manage to narrowly escape the grasp of those reaching tentacles?

Another final, large blast of wind hit them as they saw Zaheer trying to run from them. He understood his position, he knew he was fighting a losing battle, he had no option but to run for his life.

"No," hissed the spirit. "You're not getting away!" He flew straight to him and reached for him with his green tentacles. At the same time a volley of rocks flew his way. Light on his feet, he dodged both. Kaili kissed her teeth and rode the earth below her as fast as she could in pursuit. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be!" she yelled. The eye was flying beside her, giving chase at a similar speed. "I have a plan!" she shouted to him. "Go for his feet!"

He did as she asked and she caused the earth below her to violently ascend upwards, throwing her into the air. The earth had pushed against her feet, against her weakened ankle, sending the sharpest pain she'd ever felt strike up her leg. She swore and swore and twirled and twirled in the air. Ignore the pain! Focus! FOCUS! She had planned to use what little metalbending she possessed and the centrifugal force of her aerial spin against him, the pain of her injury would not prevent her from doing so.

The glowing tentacles missed him, just barely, and Zaheer turned to shoot wind to stave the spirit off again and again. Father Glowworm's attacks were persistent and were keeping Zaheer's attention towards the ground. But Kaili's wire came from above.

With a strenuous scream, she extended her arm from her spinning body and the wire zipped out like the whirling arm of a spiral. It travelled as far as her voice was loud and her father, distracted by the spirit, hadn't noticed until it was too late for him. The great, metal whip lashed him with dizzying, spinning force and he was knocked to the ground hard. Kaili's relief was short-lived, however. Kaili didn't realize the full height of her jump and plummeted to the ground. She landed on her side and slid on the sand for what felt like hours.

She'd managed to sit up for a brief moment to see her father trapped in a green web, unconscious, before she collapsed again. It was over.

. . .

When she awoke, she saw Father Glowworm floating around the car. He was bigger, much bigger. Kaili looked around as she stumbled towards him. No sign of Zaheer. "Will he be enough?" she asked the spirit, gasping for air.

"Enough?" He laughed. "With this, I could find you a cycle of reincarnations!"

"Just one will do, spirit." Kaili got into the car. "Lead me to him- or her."

"Him. The Avatar is male this time," he said before flying down the road at a speed she could follow.

Him. A boy. A baby boy. My baby boy…

. . .

The Avatar hadn't been far. The sun hadn't risen before Father Glowworm had led her to a small bungalow in a remote village in the west.

"This is it. The Avatar was birthed here, and is resting inside." He bowed to her as well as a disembodied eyeball could. "Until we meet again, Kaili."

. . .

Kaili opened the door. She stepped inside and walked to the next room. It was the bedroom. The mother and father were sleeping right there. Beside their bed was a cot. Kaili loomed over it. The boy was a spectacle to behold. She picked him up as gently as she could but the father awoke and jumped out of his bed.

"Who are you!? What are you doing!?" His shouting woke the mother.

"My baby!" she screamed after a gasp.

Kaili's foot slammed into the ground and the ground slammed the man into the wall.

"Please! Don't take my baby! Please don't take my baby away from me!" she could hear the helpless mother crying and screaming and begging at the very top of her lungs until Kaili got behind the wheel with her new son and drove away.

To Gaoling.

. . .

She had just about enough fuel to drive to Gaoling. The modern city would certainly have countless re-fuelling stations. She was more worried about the explanation she would have to give to her allies. She was a day late. And missing their newly freed leader.

This is it. This is the place. Kaili parked near the building. She got out and carefully placed the child on the seat before taking off her police armor and putting it in the trunk to don her plain clothes. She picked him up again and took a breath before deciding to finally walk in.

Kaili opened the door with the hand which wasn't holding an infant to see more than six people gathered, to say the least. Maybe the large round table back in the Republic would have gone to good use here.

It was a medium sized building. In the main hall, where she had entered, there were several active Pai Sho tables and a bar with wooden stools. There were stairs to the left leading to an interior balcony floor which surrounded the industrial-styled lights hanging from the central part of the ceiling. Both floors had a number of doors leading to smaller rooms.

"Where have you been?" asked a familiar voice.

It was the bloodbender, Kav. He wasn't much older than Kaili was, but technically held the highest rank of anyone in this room, so was forced to take charge. Take charge of… waiting around, drinking beer and playing Pai Sho, I guess? He marched over to Kaili as everyone stopped their conversations and games of Pai Sho to hear her excuse.

"We've been waiting here for-" he paused to process the object she held in her arms. The towel was draped over his lovely face, covering it. "What are you holding and- and where's your father!?"

"Well," she started. She would have to be convincing. You got this, Kaili. Nothing you haven't done before. "After we had learned of the Avatar's death… My father wanted to search for her reincarnation right away. He knew of a spirit that could help – Father Glowworm, east of here, within the mountains." The silence of the room was deafening. She had just barely managed to summon a tear.

"I've heard of that spirit," one of the re-joined members called out. "Yes, he is known to have a special relationship with the Avatar."

"Yes," she replied. "But… he was weak… he required… a sacrifice."

The collective gasp might have been audible across the city.

"I begged my father to let me be the one! But he refused to let me. In light of his weakened abilities, and inspired by Ranlok's recent selfless act…" she had noticed many of the men kiss their knuckles at the drop of his name. It was the first time she had seen such a token of respect of the dead, maybe it was a Water Tribe tradition. "…he offered himself as sacrifice and ordered me to retrieve the child and... take charge of the Red Lotus."

Whispers erupted in the room. Opposition, to be sure. The bloodbender Kav was more concerned on current matters and motioned towards the child in Kaili's arms.

"So," he said, cautiously, mentally preparing for another revelation. "Is that…?"

"Yes," she said proudly as she removed the towel from him, revealing his angelic face to the room. "He's the Avatar."

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NEXT CHAPTER: CHAPTER FOUR - STRUGGLES OF THE INTERIM CHAIRWOMAN

Bumi, the Patriarch of the Northern Air Temple, shook his head. "It had to be an inside job, they couldn't have done this alone," he said to Jinora as they started to walk towards the building. "Let's hope we can convince your mother to let us dig further into it."

Jinora: "So we just stay safe in our temples while he does whatever he wants? That's so selfish! You're acting like-like…"

"Like what?" Pema approached her daughter.

Jinora: "You're acting like a coward!"

Pema slapped her. The stinging strike had left her daughter facing sideways. The mother leaned in a little closer and spoke into her ear. "Korra wouldn't want this."

Jinora turned her head to face forward again. The strike had caused some of her hair to come down over her face, obscuring the tattoo on her forehead somewhat. "You don't know anything about Korra," she said quietly through her teeth.

Pema took a deep breath. "With the power licensed to me by Chairman Tenzin, I order the Northern Air Temple to stand down, along with anyone else who wishes to aid the United Forces. The entire Air Nation will remain idle until further instruction. Are there any objections?"

"Objection!" called Bumi, standing up…